TOULOUSE HELD OFF a second-half fightback by Harlequins to win their Champions Cup semi-final 38-26 on Sunday and set up a final with Leinster.
Toulouse scored five first-half tries to race into a 31-12 lead before Quins closed to five points with two tries at the start of the second half before a yellow card for Jack Walker halted the momentum for the Londoners.
Toulouse have won the competition a record five times while Leinster are the second most successful club with four titles. The final will take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 25.
Both teams have appeared in seven finals, but they have never met in the cup decider.
Leinster booked their place in the final with a 20-17 defeat of Northampton Saints at Croke Park yesterday.
Leinster will be seeking to avoid a painful French hat-trick having lost narrowly to La Rochelle in the last two finals.
But the province have won the last three meetings with Toulouse, the two most recent were emphatic semi-finals victories in 2019 and 2022.
From the kick-off at a packed Ernest-Wallon stadium, Toulouse pinned back Harlequins. After their powerful forwards sucked in the visiting defence, out-half Romain Ntamack flung the ball wide to Matthis Lebel who trotted over in the corner.
Quins hit back and Marcus Smith sidestepped over for a try.
Toulouse retook the lead when hooker Peato Mauvaka squirmed over.
Again Quins struck quickly, their pack mauling the home forwards rapidly backwards, to the noisy disapproval of the home crowd, before flanker Will Evan touched down.
The tide turned emphatically to Toulouse when lock Thibaud Flament plucked the ball from the hands of flanker Chandler Cunningham-South close to Quins line and jogged over to score.
Quins kept swinging but Toulouse won the ball back deep in their own half, and Antoine Dupont finished their lightning counter attack with a score.
Dupont finished another rapid attack from a turnover with his second try of the first half and the third in 10 minutes for the home team. Blair Kinghorn landed his third conversion of the half to put Toulouse ahead 31-12 at the break.
Quins, the kings of the unlikely comeback, struck at the start of the second half. Alex Dombrandt’s kick was blocked but the ball bounced back into his hands and Smith swung a long pass to Cadan Murley who dived over in the corner.
Then, following a series of line breaks, Tyrone Green scooted through a huge hole in the suddenly ragged Toulouse defence. Smith landed his fourth conversion to cut the gap to five points after 54 minutes.
But with 14 minutes to play, Walker of Quins received a yellow card for lunging over a ruck and catching Dupont in the head.
Toulouse kicked the penalty out on the left and then moved the ball quickly to the other wing where Juan Cruz Mallia lunged over in the corner at the second attempt.
Substitute Thomas Ramos kicked the conversion to seal the victory.
